Denver's Lakeside Amusement Park: From The White City Beautiful To A Century Of Fun (Timberline Books) Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
Denver's Lakeside Amusement Park details the history of Lakeside, exploring how it has managed to remain in business for more than a century (something fewer than thirty amusement parks have accomplished) and offers a unique view on larger changes in society and the amusement park industry itself. Once nicknamed White City in part for its glittering display of more than 100,000 lights, the park opened in 1908 in conjunction with Denver's participation in the national City Beautiful movement. It was a park for Denver elites, with fifty different forms of amusement, including the Lakeshore Railway and the Velvet Coaster, a casino, a ballroom, a theater, a skating rink, and avenues decorated with Greek statues. But after metropolitan growth, technological innovation, and cultural shifts in Denver, it began to cater to a working-class demographic as well. Additions of neon and fluorescent lighting, roller coasters like the Wild Chipmunk, attractions like the Fun House and Lakeside Speedway, and rides like the Scrambler, the Spider, and most recently the drop tower Zoom changed the face and feel of Lakeside between 1908 and 2008. The park also has weathered numerous financial and structural difficulties but continues to provide Denverites with affordable, family-friendly amusement today. To tell Lakeside's story, Forsyth makes use of various primary and secondary sources, including Denver newspapers, Denver's official City Beautiful publication Municipal Facts, Billboard magazine, and interviews with people connected to the park throughout its history. Denver's Lakeside Amusement Park is an important addition to Denver history that will appeal to anyone interested in Colorado history, urban history, entertainment history, and popular culture, as well as to amusement park aficionados.
Series: Timberline Books
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: University Press of Colorado; 1 edition (April 1, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 160732430X
ISBN-13: 978-1607324300
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #867,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #33 in Books > Travel > United States > Colorado > Denver #87 in Books > Business & Money > Industries > Sports & Entertainment > Park & Recreation #329 in Books > Business & Money > Industries > Performing Arts
What a wonderful history of Lakeside. It was a great place to play and a fun place to work, which I did for several summers when I was a teenager. I would have never guessed that the beginning of Lakeside centered so much around a city movement.
Apparently MK did not grow up in Denver, as Lakeside was the place to go as a kid. The pictures are 100+ years old, I assume, as I am 81. I suppose they have been in file cabines, in peoples hands, in drawers and the author must have bought them or aquired them somehow, and the gloss is all gone, if they were ever glossy. As a kid in Denver and an old lady still in Denver, I loved Lakeside, my friends loved Lakeside. The rides were wonderful and the speedway was great! I went to hear the author talk.
I am a Denver native and growing up in Denver meant growing up at Lakeside, too. This book is not only an informative history of Denver but an endearing presentation of Lakeside's beginning and longevity for all these decades. Lots of fun old pictures. Wonderful read.
This is an extremely overpriced book for what you get. I was surprised to see it was in cheap paperback print with a smattering of black and white photos which are close to newsprint quality. No glossy type pages here. While the text content might be thorough, the format is cheap. So disappointed.
I grew up in Lakewood Colorado. Lakeside is where we spent at least 1 Saturday every month, more when we were teenagers. This was a real trip down memory lane. I wish it had more pictures.
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